Small businesses got a little boost to morale as confidence seems to be improving a bit
The Wall Street Journal recently ran a report from the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) showing that “optimism rose slightly in September.” This despite the sluggish recovery for the economy overall in the United States.
Even though there was a slight increase, numbers did remain stuck in the recession zone that has been established over the last two years. Still this slight increase helps small business owners feel more upbeat about the future.
The Small Business Optimism Index was up 0.2 point, to 89.0 in September.
Hiring overall still remains weak. The employment sub-index fell four points to -4% in September. Companies that hire for hard to fill jobs remained unchanged at 11%.
In the last 18 months, many businesses have been streamlining operations and looking for ways to cut costs. The ones that have done that are coming out stronger financially and are ready to jump on growth opportunities.
Business owners are hoping for and expecting sales to be higher in the next 6 months compared to last year. Employee morale has shown improvements as well.
Many of these businesses are now using social media to target new business. When asked why they use social media, 4 out of 10 entrepreneurs said it increases their exposure.
